Are people helpless in controling their weight?
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my fathers said of the family is all overweight with the exact same apple shape. im working on becoming fit, healthy and skinny. but im afraid my shape is in my genes and im sure i will always have no *kitten*.
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Bullsh!t.0
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If he had studied normal, slow weight loss we might not be having this conversation.
"Normal, slow weight loss" has been studied.
That method has the same abysmal regain rate as quick, fast, low calorie.
None of the current methods of weight loss lead to lasting change in the vast majority of people. Call it a lifestyle change, slow and steady wins the race, etc, it all leads to the same road for the overwhelming majority of people.
Fat and fat again.
That's why the concentration has to be on a total and complete mind change AFTER the weight is gone, because how you lost it is proving to matter so little.
I disagree with this and would like to see studies that compare the regain rates/percentages of people who did the different techniques. Also, I'd like to see the measurements be body fat instead of "pounds"....
I think that there is a huge difference in success long term between people who do quick starvation diets and those who do slow and steady. First of all, slow and steady is sustainable and IS a lifestyle change. Second, when you lose weight by sever calorie restriction, you lose critical muscle mass which lowers your metabolism. You also encourage a mind-set of all or nothing... as opposed to a mind set of moderation.
I did slow and steady, lost 50 lbs and gained back 20. But as I said, I would like to see the measurements not in pounds but in body fat...because my weight is up, but so is my muscle mass (I lift heavy). My body fat was down to 19% at it's lowest and is now up to 23%. Not something I'm ashamed of, considering I started in the ball park of 40% four years ago.0 -
And yet they never answer why human beings only started inheriting all this fat in the last 30 or so years on an epidemic scale.
The reason the majority of human beings today fail at losing weight, or keeping it off after losing, regardless of what plan they use, including "lifestyle changes", is because so many of the world's citizens live in overfed societies where tasty, cheap food is readily available. They eventually crack under the pressure of being "different", and fall right back into old habits.
Let a famine sweep through and come talk to me then about "inherited obesity"
Exactly!0 -
No. No one is helpless with regard to what they put in their mouths.0
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Heredity is not destiny.
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Wow OP, just spreading joy every time I bump into you today!0 -
My entire family is obese. I used to be, but I'm not anymore. I know I'm not alone.
When we take responsibility for our actions and our weight we can change it. When we blame other people or other things we lose control of the ability to change.0 -
Genetics may play a role in determining one's natural weight. However, I firmly believe that with proper education and sufficient motivation/willpower, each individual is capable of reaching and maintaining a healthy weight absent a medical malady. Moreover, the methodologies cited in the study seem a bit suspect. That's all as I think I've wasted a sufficient amount of my time now.0
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I gained weight due to a genetic condition.
My genes are preprogrammed so that if I eat more than I burn over a long period of time I gain weight.
It's not fair!!! :sad:0 -
I know a family with many obese members. Are we to assume that just because most of them are obese that it must be genetic? I don't think so. I have seen how they eat. More specifically, how much they eat. I am not trying to be a judgemental meanie here, but it seems like obesity is not what is being passed down. It's bad eating habits. It's the thought that you can sit around all day and never exercise, but still eat as much as you want. Genetics may play a role in metabolism or diseases such as diabetes and hypothyroidism, but a little personal responsibility goes a long way.0
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People in general are not helpless just looking for the easy way out.
Its human nature. As a physical therapist I never ask people if the want to exercise, I tell them to do a specific exercise. If i asked if they wanted to, they would say no. If the MD said,"I have a pill to control your bp, cholesterol and you can eat whatever you want would you take it? Or you can work out and eat healthy. I personally don't want to be on meds for conditions I can try to change. (Granted there are things that meds are needed.) Md's give out meds too quickly when people should try to make a life style change first.
If someone 400 lbs needs a knee replacement, it will get done but the long term success rate is lower than for a lighter person. Maybe the MD should help the person loose weight and they might not end up needing the surgery, Billions of dollars are spent on obesity and its side effects (diabetes, heart disease, joint replacements). Sorry i'll get off my soap box.
I also find that people have zippo will power and they are not willing to give things up. We as a society are overindulgent...bigger and more is better. Or so we are told.0 -
I don't think so, my Dad was perfect weight, muscular and healthy, and his side of the family had no problem with obesity. My Mom was fit and athletic until she started having kids, then she started gaining weight.
There is more to the story and I agree with the poster who said if you are starved with a 600 calorie diet of course you will rebound.0 -
I gained weight due to a genetic condition.
My genes are preprogrammed so that if I eat more than I burn over a long period of time I gain weight.
It's not fair!!! :sad:
:laugh:0 -
And yet they never answer why human beings only started inheriting all this fat in the last 30 or so years on an epidemic scale.
The reason the majority of human beings today fail at losing weight, or keeping it off after losing, regardless of what plan they use, including "lifestyle changes", is because so many of the world's citizens live in overfed societies where tasty, cheap food is readily available. They eventually crack under the pressure of being "different", and fall right back into old habits.
Let a famine sweep through and come talk to me then about "inherited obesity"
Yes, indeed. It's a mystery, right?
Look, OP, learned behaviors are hard to change. If you're born into a family of all obese people, not a huge stretch to think you're going to have a high probability of being obese since you'll likely learn your eating habits from them. Something tells me that little kids adopted into obese foster homes would have the same high probability. Look at all the people from other countries who move here. How many learn from us, adopt the "Typical American Diet" and become obese? Same thing, but they have a better shot at not becoming obese. At least they had a good foundation to fall back on.
Besides, the body is pretty tightly regulated - metabolism especially, since it is so tightly intertwined with everything that occurs in the body. I don't know if anyone's done the research because metabolism is not my field, but I would be surprised if you can have much variation in the rates of the various metabolic processes without serious physiological consequences - well beyond just gaining weight.0 -
Actually you need only read through this forum to see see how on point the article and studies are. Lose and regain. Rinse and repeat. But lets not argue with science, studies, and statistical data to have an intelligent conversation about weight loss. And why so many people fail in their weight loss quest. They are just a bunch of fatties who can't put down the ding-dongs. Just post low brow, third grade, memes.0
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If he had studied normal, slow weight loss we might not be having this conversation.
"Normal, slow weight loss" has been studied.
That method has the same abysmal regain rate as quick, fast, low calorie.
None of the current methods of weight loss lead to lasting change in the vast majority of people. Call it a lifestyle change, slow and steady wins the race, etc, it all leads to the same road for the overwhelming majority of people.
Fat and fat again.
That's why the concentration has to be on a total and complete mind change AFTER the weight is gone, because how you lost it is proving to matter so little.
I disagree with this and would like to see studies that compare the regain rates/percentages of people who did the different techniques. Also, I'd like to see the measurements be body fat instead of "pounds"....
I think that there is a huge difference in success long term between people who do quick starvation diets and those who do slow and steady. First of all, slow and steady is sustainable and IS a lifestyle change. Second, when you lose weight by sever calorie restriction, you lose critical muscle mass which lowers your metabolism. You also encourage a mind-set of all or nothing... as opposed to a mind set of moderation.
I did slow and steady, lost 50 lbs and gained back 20. But as I said, I would like to see the measurements not in pounds but in body fat...because my weight is up, but so is my muscle mass (I lift heavy). My body fat was down to 19% at it's lowest and is now up to 23%. Not something I'm ashamed of, considering I started in the ball park of 40% four years ago.
You can chose to believe whatever you like, but it's the truth. Losing weight/fat/pounds/whatever, regardless of method, the overwhelming majority of times, in the overwhelming majority of people, leads to significant regaining of weight in the long term.
Long term success is extremely rare, and even most of the 'successes' are people who managed to not gain back ALL the weight.
There is no evidence that calling it a "lifestyle change", doing it the "slow, or "right", way leads to a great percentage of long term weight loss success. Those are popular dieting mantras that have no basis in fact at all. They just sound really good and encouraging, and for companies in the business of weight loss, they're great ways to keep people hooked for long periods of time.
This article references a study where almost all the slow, moderate, and fast losers regained the weight. The difference was that the quicker losers, on the whole, enjoyed far more weight loss because they'd lost more in the same amount of time. Everyone regained about similar amounts of weight, regardless of rate of loss.
http://triathlon.competitor.com/2011/11/nutrition/the-myth-of-slow-weight-loss_43011
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/20443094
An excerpt from the study:
"Our study provides further evidence that, within the context of lifestyle treatment, losing weight at a fast initial rate leads to greater short-term weight reductions, does not result in increased susceptibility to weight regain, and is associated with larger weight losses and overall long-term success in weight management," the authors write in the International Journal of Behavioral Medicine.
Here is an analysis over over two dozen US studies, done across 5 years, comparing people who lost on a very low energy diet (less than 800 a day) vs a more balanced diet of 1200-1500 calories.
The conclusions?
"Participants who completed a very low energy diet programme lost significantly more weight and maintained greater weight losses after four to five years than those who completed a hypoenergetic balanced diet programme".
http://ajcn.nutrition.org/content/74/5/579.long
Anecdotally I've lost slow, and lost fast. Regain rates were the same following each type of loss. I have never seen any advantage to slowing down weight loss, except frustration. Most important is how you adjust after you lose weight, regardless of how you lost it.
I challenge you to find a single study that champions strong long term success for slow, "lifestyle" change dieters.0 -
And yet they never answer why human beings only started inheriting all this fat in the last 30 or so years on an epidemic scale.
The reason the majority of human beings today fail at losing weight, or keeping it off after losing, regardless of what plan they use, including "lifestyle changes", is because so many of the world's citizens live in overfed societies where tasty, cheap food is readily available. They eventually crack under the pressure of being "different", and fall right back into old habits.
Let a famine sweep through and come talk to me then about "inherited obesity"
Yes, indeed. It's a mystery, right?
Look, OP, learned behaviors are hard to change. If you're born into a family of all obese people, not a huge stretch to think you're going to have a high probability of being obese since you'll likely learn your eating habits from them. Something tells me that little kids adopted into obese foster homes would have the same high probability. Look at all the people from other countries who move here. How many learn from us, adopt the "Typical American Diet" and become obese? Same thing, but they have a better shot at not becoming obese. At least they had a good foundation to fall back on.
Besides, the body is pretty tightly regulated - metabolism especially, since it is so tightly intertwined with everything that occurs in the body. I don't know if anyone's done the research because metabolism is not my field, but I would be surprised if you can have much variation in the rates of the various metabolic processes without serious physiological consequences - well beyond just gaining weight.
Re-read the section about adoptees and twins. Its the nature versus nurture argument. The article is stating that the major causes are more likely genetic and not environmental. That is what I found to be interesting because it goes against what many of the "experts" here think and are spewing.0 -
Some physical traits are inherited. Big bones and such. There are some diseases that are inherited that hinder peoples ability to metabolize fat. Thyroid problems and such.
Heart issuea run in my family. Most of them were overweight and had other issues. They also liked fatty meat and drank a lot of cola.---- not attacking meat and cola. Anything eaten in moderation is ok----
According to that theory I am doomed to die early from heart problems caused by obesity.
Following MFP I've gone from 195 to 115 and have kept it off for a year. I would have to say they are wrong.0
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